Week 10 at Symphony Park! It was a beautiful Easter morning, a bit chilly but very sunny! We heard an obnoxious dog barking throughout my observations along with a few birds that were willing to stand the cold! I found some ant hills first in the grass and as we were leaving the park we saw more on the sidewalk. We did not see many ants maybe because of the chilly weather. After doing some research on only a little evidence, there is a good possibility that the type of ants that I was viewing were field ants.
The few that we did see were a brown, translucent color. This combined with where the nest was located led me to this conclusion. According to an exterminator, who would most certainly be familiar with finding ants, "Field ants commonly form large low-profile earthen mounds in the yard" (Steinau). His assessment of the ant hills is close to what we found.
Steinau, Rick. "Field Ants." Field Ants. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Interesting and timely since we were just tested on arthropods.
ReplyDeleteI will now know what the types of ants are called that live in those types of anthills. Also, I think that the comment above mine is very insightful.
ReplyDeleteSounds like maybe ants of the genus Formica. There are SO many species of ant, and "field ant" sounds like more of a general term covering many species with similar habits and appearance. Also, check this out: aluminum sculptures made by pouring hot aluminum into anthills and making casts of their underground nests. AMAZING how intricate and huge there are! http://www.core77.com/blog/architecture/walter_tschinkels_aluminum_casts_of_ant_colonies_reveals_insect_architecture_23607.asp
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